Mathematics and Statistics
In an effort to ease the transition from high school into mathematics and statistics courses at a college/university level many colleges and universities have begun requiring incoming students take some sort of mathematics placement exam. All colleges and universities in the Utah System of Higher Education (UHSE) administer some form of placement exam in mathematics to help students determine appropriate college level mathematics and statistics courses to take. The Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Utah State University administers the Math Placement Test (MPT). This test is available to all students at USU and for many students in the public school system who are interested in determining their math skill level before or after entering Utah State University. Links to review materials are given below.

Review Material:

The Math Placement Test

The Math Placement Test (MPT) can be taken at any time for a fee of $10 that includes the cost of one or two exams along with advisement by the mathematics and statistics advising staff. The Math Advising Office uses the to assess each student's math skill set. The goal is to determine a path through the mathematics and statistics courses needed for successful completion of the student's degree program. The process generally follows the following sequence of events.

  1. Step 1. A student who wants/needs to take the MPT arranges for a time to take the MPT through the Math Advising Office by calling 1-435-797-0268, e-mailing the advising office, or by showing up at a scheduled testing time in one of the testing rooms. Note that the test can be taken just about anywhere a student has access to the internet. Tests have been given in the Dominican Republic and Canada as well as around the United States.
  2. Step 2. There are two possible tests a student may take to assess the math skills the student currently has. After a brief interview the proctor will start the student on either the Elemetary Algebra (EA) exam, or the College Level Math (CLM) exam.
  3. Step 3. When the exam is complete, the student will notify the proctor that all of the questions have been answered and the proctor will use the score on the exam to determine if the student should take the second exam or if the student can be placed into a particular math course, say Math 1010.
  4. Step 4. After the student has been placed, the student can choose to enroll in the course determined by the exam scores or review some set of math skills and take the test again at a later time.
Please note that the fee for the MPT includes one advisement and placing. This includes a brief interview before the MPT is taken, one or two tests depending on the score on the first exam, and finally the advisement and placement after the exam is completed.

A Tale of Two Placement Tests

As mentioned above, there are two exams a student might need to take to get a full assessment of the math skills the student has. The Elementary Algebra (EA) exam tests basic algebra skills included in Math 0900 and into first part of Math 1010. The College Level Math (CLM) exam tests further algebra skills and trigonometry skills of the student. It is difficult at best to get a good idea how each student retains math skills. After the initial interview, a student may start with either exam. If a student starts with the EA exam and scores very well, the adivsors in the Math Adivising office will normally request the student continue on into the CLM exam (at no extra charge). Once both scores are evaluated, a better idea of how current the math skills are is indicated. On the other side of things, if a student starts in the CLM exam and struggles, the student will be asked to continue and take the EA exam (at no extra charge) to see where the math skills need a bit of work. Students can place into Math 1010 in the EA exam. However, to place into Math 1050 and Math 1060 a student must be able to obtain a reasonable score on the CLM exam. Finally, to place into Math 1100 or Math 1210 it is expected that the student will earn a very high score on the CLM exam. Scores on both the EA and CLM exams are not published since it is expected that these scores will be modified as the need arises.
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